Westlake Monomers Corporation

The B. F. Goodrich Company

James E Best

Joseph A Cowfer

A method and apparatus for quenching a gas stream in the production of vinyl chloride monomer includes the use of a knock back condenser and a plurality of column fractional distillation trays disposed within the quench column, and a liquid stream of 1,2-dichloroethane, vinyl chloride, and hydrogen chloride may be removed from the bottom column fractional distillation tray.

Apparatus for quenching a gas stream in the production of vinyl chloride

Method for quenching a gas stream in the production of vinyl chloride

This process stems from the discovery that the solubility of water in vinyl chloride monomer ('VCM') is so low in a cold aqueous caustic solution at a temperature below 0.degree. C., that the aqueous solution will remove water dissolved in the monomer, and at the same time, will neutralize the HCl associated with the monomer and prevent the formation of acetylene. This discovery makes it possible to dry and neutralize a HCl and water-containing vinyl chloride ('VCl') stream, by intimately contacting the stream with a cold aqueous 2 to 30 wt % caustic soda solution at a temperature below 25.degree. F. and above the freezing point of the caustic solution. In a commercial VCM producing facility, VCl can be 'finished' in a 'stand-alone' processing facility with greater economy than in a conventional VCM plant, yet avoid the hazards of operating a conventional VCl stripping column and scrubbers packed with solid caustic pellets. The process allows simultaneously drying and neutralizing a VCl stream containing from about 1 part per million (ppm) to about 500 ppm HCl, and from about 10 ppm to about 300 ppm of water by contacting it with a 10% to 25% aqueous cold caustic solution, and separating dry and neutralized VCM monomer containing no more than 100 ppm water.

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Paducah, KY, United States of America

James E Best